Asks intervention of world community to stop human rights violation in Kashmir
Srinagar, Sep 25: In a virtual address, the prime minister lamented that at a time when the global community should have come together to combat the novel coronavirus, it had instead of stoked racism and religious hatred. Islamophobia was rising in several countries, he said, adding that Muslims were being killed, mosques were being desecrated and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was being insulted “in the name of freedom of speech”.
“We believe that the driving force in international relations must be cooperation in accordance with the principles of international law and not confrontation and force. We all must emphatically reaffirm our support for multilateralism.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the oneness of humanity. No one is safe unless everyone is safe,” PM Imran stated as per a leading newspaper of Pakistan.
The prime minister also shone a light on Pakistan’s efforts to curb the coronavirus and noted that Pakistan’s response was recognized as one of the “success stories” in controlling the disease.
“However, we are still not out of the woods like no country is out of the woods today,” said Prime Minister Imran, adding that from the outset of the pandemic, developing countries were at a disadvantage due to lack of resources and would require fiscal space to cope with the economic fallout caused by the health crisis.
He recalled that earlier this year, he had called upon developed countries and global financial institutions to provide debt relief to poor countries so they could fight against the virus, and added that further similar measures will be required for developing nations.
He also directed UNGA’s attention towards money laundering and corruption by the elite of developing countries who stash their wealth in tax havens in developed countries and explained how such practices affect the economies of financially-poor nations.
“Since they are beneficiaries, there is a lack of political will in the rich countries to curb this criminal activity,” he declared and added that if money launderers were provided with sanctuaries, the gulf between poor and rich countries will continue to grow and would lead to “a far bigger global crisis than the present migration issue poses”.
He also warned that India had “upped its military ante” against Pakistan in order to divert attention from its domestic problems. The premier once again directed the world community’s attention towards the human rights violations by the Indian government in Kashmir.
The prime minister also spoke about Israel’s occupation of Palestine and said that “a just and lasting settlement is indispensable for the Middle East and actually the world”.
Prime Minister Imran said that the “illegal annexations” of Palestinian lands, the building of illegal settlements and imposing “inhumane living conditions” on Palestinian people could not lead to peace.
He said that Pakistan supported a two-state solution “in line with the UNGA and UNSC resolutions within the international agreed parameters; and they are pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Shareef as the capital of a united, contiguous and independent Palestinian state”.
“The United Nations should be made fully responsive to the challenges of our times. A comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, is essential to promote greater democracy, accountability, transparency and efficiency,” the prime minister insisted. (KDC)
